Chick Days: An Absolute Beginner's Guide To Raising Chickens From Hatchlings To Laying Hens

by Jenna Woginrich, Mars Vilaubi (Photographer)

Chickens are the hottest new backyard “pet”! It seems that every Tom, Dick, and Susan wants to raise chickens in his or her backyard, whether that yard is one square foot or one hundred. There’s nothing more local than an egg freshly laid right in your own yard. But what should you expect when you’re adopting a couple of day-old chicks? In Chick Days, Jenna Woginrich, award-winning author of Made from Scratch, the homesteading memoir for the twenty-something generation, offers a highly entertaining and informative photographic guide for today’s fledgling chick parent. Fun for the complete newbie and for families with young children, Chick Days chronicles the journey of three chickens from newly hatched fluffy butterballs to grown hens laying eggs. Day by day and week by week, readers watch the three starring chickens grow and change, learning about chicken behavior, feeding requirements, housing, hygiene, and health-care essentials, and fun facts on all things poultry. As Jenna herself says, “Chickens are more than 12-piece buckets, country diner kitsch, and egg whites. They’re your backyard ambassadors to healthier eating and basic husbandry. Keeping chickens is a crash course in local eating. When you start collecting eggs you’ll be eating so local you’ll know the amount of cracked corn in the feeder at ground zero of your breakfast . . . ”

Jenna’s witty commentary is accompanied by the photography of Mars Vilaubi, who raised the three chickens himself, along with his wife and son. Their accompanying “chick diary” notes particular things this family learned and did along the way to make chicken raising fun. Presenting just the essential information in a highly visual and inviting format, Chick Days makes every stage of chicken life fun, entertaining, and, most of all, doable. It’s sure to give any chicken lover or wannabe owner the confidence and enthusiasm to join the flock!

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Gardening, Reference, Agriculture, How To, Nature

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2011

About the author

Former urbanite, future shepherdess and current farm writer — Jenna Woginrich has big plans. Plans that include living a more self-sufficient life with dogs at her side and wi-fi in the barn. She drives an orange pickup and shares her Vermont cabin and gardens with working sled dogs, a small flock of sheep, a hilarious goat, a flock of gregarious chickens, two awkward geese, wooly angora rabbits, and a hive of bees. She's also the author of Cold Antler Farm, a blog about her life as a beginner homesteader and several books.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chick Days
Raising Chickens from Hatchlings to Laying Hens
Jenna Woginrich
Photography by Mars Vilaubi

Chick Days published by Storey says this is “An Absolute Beginner Guide”. It not only is a great beginner guide, it is an eye pleasing book to seasoned chicken raisers!

Jenna Woginrich thinks of all aspects of raising chickens from your first considering having these fine feathered friends and which ones would work best for you, to how to house them and feed them. She dispels myths like chickens are noisy and costly, when in fact they are very quiet (compared to other livestock) and cost just dollars to get started.

The photographs are just wonderful, many will make you chuckle, as you see actual breeds of chickens and the supplies you need.

After you get all the simple introductions under your belt you are ready to meet the 3 chickens showcased in the book, Amelia, Honey and Tilda. The Chick Diary follows these 3 chicks from day 1 till they are laying eggs at 6 months of age. Actual photos of these three chickens as they are growing through their days makes this a delightful journal for all ages.

Jenna uses humor, Chicken medleys and interesting ideas to give a quirky, yet informational feel to the book. Not your text book variety on raising chickens, but a book to hook the newcomer, and refresh the oldie.
Fantastic book by Jenna and wonderful photography by Mars!!
You honestly can’t go wrong with books published by Storey.

I received a copy of this book from Storey in exchange for an honest review.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if I'm gonna raise chickens at my apartment, but knowledge is power! After reading Chick Days: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens from Hatching to Laying, I feel like I can raise chickens. I will admit I grew up with chickens on a farm as a kid, so I'm interested in raising chickens. I enjoyed the manner in which this is written, easy-going and honest. The photographs make for great visual references. I can't wait until I can have chickens. With the knowledge gained from this reading, I now know what to look for when looking for a place to live, what my chicks would need. I love eggs and would love to have chickens working on making my food. Do you know chickens can eat kitchen scraps, too. How environmentally friendly is that?!?

[Nancy Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the author's first book, "Made From Scratch...", when I was preparing for getting chickens, but THIS book is one of the best all inclusive instruction books for anyone wanting to raise backyard chickens (which I totally encourage!). I also follow her blog too (Cold Antler Farm). I started the day with a 3-egg omelet (1 from each of the girls) with Brie and homegrown chives (yum) then read this book. They're all geared up for spring. Will trade eggs for bunches of greens or donations for the feed fund!

[Erica]

Great book on chicks' first few weeks of life and how to care for them. Then jumps to months and highlights major milestones and issues to watch for.

[Katie Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of really good chick-specific information 🐣

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful to fantasize about having the space for chickens.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chick Days is laid out like a scrap book, full of beautiful photographs of happy, healthy chicks and pullets, cute tags for the chapter and section headings, and "chick diary" entries that are supposed to look handwritten. It's all very twee.

Although I think this book contains great information for "an absolute beginner," which I have to admit I'm not, the way in which it's presented just rubbed me the wrong way. I've read some reviews of Jenna Woginrich's other books, which further convinced me that her books are not for me. Although she tries to be funny, I found her overly precious and self-righteous: "Just try raising chickens and you'll turn into an awesome, homesteading hipster like me." (That's my paraphrase, not an actual quote.)

The chicken-raising family featured in this book "relocat[ed] from San Francisco to the Berkshires" where they "welcomed chickens into their stylish home (literally: a brooder was set up in the spare bedroom)." I'm just not going to say anything else about this family, because I'm sure they're very nice, and anything else I say is just going to sound bitchy. Also, I already used the term hipster once in this review.

If you are looking for a beautiful book with step-by-step instructions for raising chicks and a great chart of various breeds (stuffed in the back, it was one of my favorite parts), this is a good book. Keeping Chickens with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock contains more useful information, and also features beautiful photographs and overly educated white people.

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is it about chickens?! I don't even have any and I'm reading a really good, accessible book about raising hen chicks from about 2-days old till they start laying and beyond. What is wrong with me?!

The truth is that I love the way chickens look. I think they're beautiful. Then, I love the idea that they provide eggs. Then, I love it that they are fellow beings on this planet and that we can live with them.

So, I actually want to have some chickens. I have chicken dreams! And this book is just the right blend of good knowledge provided in a relaxed and humorous way and general encouragement and cheerleading. Chicken illness, feeds and their timing, grit, scratch, protein needs, molting, broodiness, etc. --- it is all discussed here. Plus there is a nice bibliography of internet and hard copy resources. And nice photos. It is a really charming book.

And it's helped me. I realize that I wanted two hens (enough for the space I have), but that I and they would be better off if there were a total of "four of us". Plus now I have to think about bantams and whether they'd work in the space I have --- something I wouldn't have pondered before.

[Bonnie Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm half way through this one, but it is my favorite chicken book as far (and I've read as many as I can get my hands on this spring!). I love the conversational tone of the author - if she lived near me, I think we would be good friends. Very informative, love the pictures, very highly recommended. My 10 year old picked this out for me at the feed store and I am so glad she did! Very highly recommended for any first time chicken farmer!

[Marni · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an "absolute beginner" chicken owner, I really enjoyed this book. I've read others with a lot of great information, but my favorite part of this was the day-by-day then month-by-month information as the chicks grow. It helped me notice the changes our chicks were going through, especially early on.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Definitely gave me a much greater understanding of chickens, the workings of raising them, and a realistic view on keeping them. Before the book, I had a vague idea of wanting some chickens so I could have eggs, but now I have a much clearer idea as to what that entails and how suitable raising them would be for me. I'm even more interested now! :D

[Heather Truckenmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think storey publishing has ever published a book I didn't love. We've been raising chicks for 10 years, and I still learned new things in this book! I highly recommend it for anyone considering raising chickens.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

an awesome book with great pictures!! This book has actually helped me to be okay with waiting for the RIGHT time to have chicks and be prepared. I didn't realize how beautiful chickens can be till I saw this... and now I know exactly the kind I want!

[Photina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, easy read. Even my daughter likes me to read to her from the book so she can learn more about how to take care of our chickens. This is a good book for any family who wants to raise chickens.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice, this is exactly what I was looking for. I do wish that there was at least one chapter on raising broilers and how to butcher them. I like the way she writes and I would rather hear from her friendly narrative how to butcher a chicken.

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book - would have been perfect when I 1st got chickens.
Lots of valuable information, to the point, awesome photos and a journal/diary approach to the 1st yr of 3 chicks.
Great resource for the "poultrally" inclined!

[Jen Dent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitive, but a good read. Great photography, great "don't freak out if X happens, that's normal" book.

[Danette]

I will find a way to work around my City laws in order to have chickens in my backyard someday (Along with goats and bees). My quarter acre paradise!

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It has inspired me to keep my own chickens.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are more comprehensive books out there on the subject, but I liked this one for the colorful pictures. It's more of a fun informational book instead of just straight on with the information.

[raccoon reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best beginner book I've read so far. Exactly what I wanted and needed! I highly recommend this to help calm your first time chick raising fears. I only wish I owned a copy.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Relevant to small, backyard flocks like ours. I can see myself referring back to this one in the coming weeks.

[Maggi Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mos comprehensive beginner book on chicken raising I've read thus far (and I've read many). Also a quick and thoroughly entertaining read.

[Heidi Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tell people I have “book hobbies” - no time or space right now for many real hobbies, so I explore hobbies with good books. This was a very fun, engaging, visually appealing intro to chickens. The author’s tone was friendly, common-sensical, practical and enthusiastic; if you’ve read B. Kingsolvers “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”, I found the kindly tone of “Chick Days” similarly comforting and wise. Yet while that was mostly story with little actual practical guidance, “Chick Days” is chock full of practical guidance, considerations and warnings. The book’s organization takes you on the journey of raising chickens, accompanied by really lovely pictures and charts. It was almost like a “DK” book in terms of the images, color and informal layout; even a young child would glean valuable content from this book, and it could be a fun book for a family wanting to try raising chickens. There are many questions that I have that weren’t quite answered, but I left with what feels like a very sound baseline plan and understanding of what I need to consider; and a sense of the more advanced references I might need to seek out. It made chicken raising seem do-able, fun and worthwhile, which I think was the author’s goal.

[Tana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid resource for beginners with ample photographs and personal anecdotes throughout. Keep in mind that Woginrich is only four years into keeping chickens. This is a great primer that can lead to further study: I'd recommend borrowing this from the library and investing in a more dense reference book that will provide pertinent information for years to come (Harvey Ussery's Small-Scale Poultry Flock is the clear choice here).

[Tiff Setzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are thinking about raising chickens this is a book you should read before purchasing anything for chickens or about purchasing them. It breaks down their food, homing needs, how long it takes for different chickens to lay eggs, touching on financials! You know all the things you should know.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a beginner. This was easy to read and understand. Not overwhelming with too much information, but just enough to get you started. The pictures were also enjoyable and added an extra personal touch. I would recommend to anyone wanting to get started raising chickens.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this out loud to my daughter in anticipation of our new chicks. Loads of take-aways but nothing on integrating new chicks with an established flock. Gleaned a lot from this but it is missing some key info. I’d recommend this to those new to chicken keeping.

[Emily Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a fun concept and great photos, but I read it as an e-book and found it a bit disorganized and FF was always #? Odd, but still had good info!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really is great for a beginner and a refresher.